Ceramic structures, including substrates, are useful in a variety of applications. By way of non-limiting example, ceramic honeycomb structures or bodies may be selectively plugged and used in diesel particulate filters (“DPFs”), membrane separations, and flow-through catalytic converters. However, the ability to reliably produce extrude-to-shape ceramic honeycomb structures is generally dependent on the ability to minimize variability in production, e.g. how much the ceramic honeycomb structure shrinks or grows during the firing and/or drying process. Because ceramic honeycomb structures may be placed in a housing, for example when used as a DPF, there are various specifications for the shape and/or size of the honeycomb. For example, certain applications may require that the shrinkage or growth of the honeycomb structure after firing and/or drying does not vary by more than ±0.5% from the targeted value in order to ensure that the final product can fit into a particular housing. In further exemplary applications, the variation can be no more than about ±0.3% from the targeted value.
Several different methods for controlling the shrinkage and/or growth of ceramics during firing have been employed, such as, for example, batch compositional changes, raw material beneficiation, firing process changes, and fired ware cutting in combination with artificial skinning. However, there is a continuing desire in the industry to provide additional methods for controlling the shrinkage and/or growth of ceramic structures, such as honeycomb bodies, particularly between a green body state and a fired state. In particular, there is a need for methods of controlling the shrinkage and/or growth of ceramic structures with compositions other than traditional cordierite, for example, substantially clay-free cordierite honeycombs.